Introducing the newest series from NHPR’s award-winning Document team: “The Youth Development Center.” New Hampshire has sent its most troubled kids to the same juvenile detention center for more than a century. It's a place that was supposed to nurture them, that instead hurt them – in some of the worst ways imaginable. It's now at the center of one of the biggest youth detention scandals in American history. How did this happen – and how did it finally come to light? The rest of the series is ...
Jul 11, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Maybe you’ve looked at the sky on a clear night and spotted the International Space Station, a tiny white dot gliding through the stars. Maybe it felt special, a rare glimpse of a human-made satellite in space. But what if you were to look up at the sky and see more visible satellites than stars? What if the Big Dipper and Orion were drowned out by a satellite traffic jam, criss-crossing through space? A growing number of astronomers are sounding the alarm about such a possibility, even within t...
Jul 04, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Consider the potato. The typical potato is not all that pretty. They can be beige and lumpy, dusty and speckled, and on top of that, they even sprout alien-like tentacles. Further, no one really knows what to make of the potato. Is it a vegetable, or so starchy that we should really consider it a grain? It’s time for answers. The Outside/In team ventures into the potato patch and presents three stories on this “fifth most important crop worldwide.” Part 1: An artist vaults the humble potato to l...
Jun 27, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ed Yong’s writing about the pandemic in Atlantic Magazine was read by millions of Americans. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for his coverage. But behind the scenes, he was struggling with burnout, anxiety and depression. Host Nate Hegyi sits down with Ed for a conversation about how he decided to step back from pandemic reporting, the benefits (and possible drawbacks) of birdwatching for mental health, and the unexpected club that’s bringing two halves of his life together. Featuring Ed Yong. S...
Jun 20, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast During their twelve seasons as winter rangers in Yosemite National Park, Rob and Laura Pilewski have learned a thing or two about what it means to love a place – and a person. This episode comes to us from the wonderful folks at The Dirtbag Diaries , another podcast that features stories about conservation, epic adventures, and more. Featuring Rob and Laura Pilewski SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In . Follow Outside/...
Jun 13, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast What do wolves, waste-water treatment plants, and the Gulf Stream have in common? This episode, that’s what! It’s that wonderful time when we comb through all your wonderful questions and call up some scientists to help us answer them. Some of the more unlikely things that get brought up include dinosaur pee, abandoned shopping carts, and wolves preying on cheese curds. Here’s what’s on the docket: Why is dog saliva slimier than human saliva? Why do wolves get relocated in the middle of winter? ...
Jun 06, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every December, during the Christmas Bird Count, tens of thousands of volunteers look to the skies for an international census of wild birds. But during migration season, a much smaller squad of New York City volunteers take on a more sobering experience: counting dead birds that have collided with glass buildings and fallen back to Earth. In this episode, we find out what kind of people volunteer for this grisly job, visit the New York City rehab center that takes in injured pigeons, and find o...
May 30, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC is sometimes called “the people’s zoo.” That’s because it’s the only zoo in the country to be created by an act of US Congress, and admission is free. But why did our federal government create a national zoo in the first place? Producer Felix Poon has the scoop – from its surprising origins in the near-extinction of bison, to a look at its modern-day mission of conservation, we’re going on a field trip to learn all about the National Zoo...
May 23, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast While digging a well in 1750, a group of workers accidentally discovered an ancient Roman villa containing over a thousand papyrus scrolls. This was a stunning discovery: the only library from antiquity ever found in situ. But the scrolls were blackened and fragile, turned almost to ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Over the centuries, scholars’ many attempts to unroll the fragile scrolls have mostly been catastrophic. But now, scientists are trying again, this time with the help of Silicon...
May 16, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing. In late 2023, tensions were running high between the major players in the water world as they convened at the annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas. LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin was there, seeking to learn as much as she can about the people with the most power ...
May 09, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast You might associate it with the foil that wraps leftover pizza and the shiny craft beer cans sold in breweries, but aluminum is literally everywhere . Scoop up a handful of soil or gravel anywhere on Earth, and you’ll find atoms of bonded aluminum hidden inside. Over the past 150 years, that abundance has led production of the silvery metal to skyrocket (pun intended) and created an industry responsible for 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But even before it was used in everything from a...
May 02, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast When officials commissioned a set of updated hazard maps for Juneau, Alaska, they thought the information would help save lives and spur new development. Instead, the new maps drew public outcry from people who woke up to discover their homes were at risk of being wiped out by landslides. What’s followed has been a multiyear project – not to address the challenges posed by climate-fueled landslides – but to alter, ignore, or otherwise shelve the maps that outline the threat in the first place. H...
Apr 25, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the half-century since the passage of the Endangered Species Act. But, hold on. Aren’t we in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Shouldn’t the list of extinct species be… way longer? Well, yeah. Maybe. Producer Taylor Quimby sets out to understand why it’s so difficult to o...
Apr 18, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick. "Western medicine is lying to you," says content-creator Dr. Paul Saladino, who co-owns a company selling desiccated cattle organs. The online popularity of the carnivore diet is undeniable. Yet, no controlled studies have been published confirming its advertised benefits. O...
Apr 11, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hemp used to be a staple of life in America. King James I demanded that colonists produce it. Hemp rope and fabric were ubiquitous throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The USDA even produced a WWII newsreel called “Hemp for Victory.” But other materials came to replace hemp – wood pulp for paper, and cotton and synthetics for fabric. Why? For that matter, what is hemp? Is it different from weed? And does it actually have 25,000 uses as its proponents claim? Featuring Hector “Freedom” Gerardo,...
Apr 04, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s that special time again! Scientists everywhere hold their breath as the team opens the Outside/Inbox and answers listener questions about the natural world. In this episode, we consider Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl, an impulsive goat purchase, and a big night for salamanders. Plus, we’re graced with Nate’s rendition of a Tom Waits song. Questions: What would NYC look like in 50 years if humans disappeared? What if the earth had no moon? Could humans survive a worst-case climate scenario? Do...
Mar 28, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast To save for retirement, common knowledge says to “diversify your portfolio.” Give your cash to a company so they can invest it into hundreds of other companies on the stock market. But unless you’ve gone out of your way to change it, your portfolio probably has little to do with your values. For example, there are climate activists invested in fossil fuel companies. Staunch vegans putting some of their hard-earned income into Tyson Foods. On the flip side, there are climate deniers with money in...
Mar 21, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Editor's Note: This episode first aired in July, 2023 With 'Oppenheimer,' director Christopher Nolan turned the Manhattan Project into an Academy-Award-winning blockbuster. The film is set in Los Alamos, where the first atomic bomb was tested. But few people know the history of Carrizozo, a rural farming area downwind of the test. Radioactive fallout from the bomb settled on everything: the soil, gardens, and drinking water. Cow’s milk became radioactive. Later, hundreds of people developed radi...
Mar 14, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you grew up with family members who pushed (or dragged) you onto the trail, chances are you have strong memories associated with hiking. Epic vistas… swarms of black flies… and your dad’s terrible homemade gorp. Whether you grow up to see them as personal triumphs or family fiascos, those early adventures can shape your perception of the outdoors for life. Can parents shape kids into hardcore hikers? And what happens when your best-laid plans go off the map? Featuring Sarah Lamagna, Nick Capo...
Mar 07, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast A century ago, coastal dunes threatened to overwhelm the city of Florence, Oregon. The sand swallowed roads, highways, and houses. When “Dune” author Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand. Eventually, it inspired his fictional desert planet, Arrakis. But now, the dunes that inspired “Dune” are disappearing. To solve the sand problem, the US Forest Service planted dunes with non-native beachgrass, hoping its strong roots would keep the dunes in pl...
Feb 29, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, dozens of strangers gathered together in the woods for three straight days. Their mission? Teach people of color how to kill, gut, and butcher a deer for the first time. Producer Felix Poon was there as a first-time hunter. He wanted to know: what does it feel like to take an animal's life to sustain your own? Given the opportunity… would he pull the trigger? In this episode we follow Felix out of his depth and into the woods, to find out if one wee...
Feb 22, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Editor's note: This episode was first published in July, 2022. Humans have had an impressive run thus far; we’ve explored most of the planet (the parts that aren’t underwater anyway), landed on the moon, created art and music, and made some pretty entertaining Tik Toks. But we’ve survived on the planet for just a fraction of the time horseshoe crabs and alligators have. And we’re vastly outnumbered by many species of bacteria and insects. So what is the most successful species on Earth? And how ...
Feb 15, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is massive, bigger than the state of Florida. If it collapses, it could reshape every coast on this planet during this century. That’s why it’s sometimes known as “the Doomsday Glacier.” And yet, until recently, we knew very little about it. Because Thwaites is extremely remote, reachable only by crossing the wildest ocean on the planet, scientists had never observed its calving edge firsthand. In 2019, a ground-breaking international mission set out to change that...
Feb 08, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A lot of discussion about sustainability revolves around the trash and waste we leave behind. But at some point, every human being will die and leave behind a body. So what should we do with it? Casket? Cremation? Compost? And does our choice actually have a meaningful impact on the soils and skies around us? Today, we’ve got another edition of our segment, “This, That, or the Other Thing”, where Outside/In’s unofficial decomposition correspondent Felix Poon investigates how we can more sustaina...
Feb 01, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Support Outside/In before February 5th, and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Donate $8 per month and we’ll send you a pair of merino wool socks from Minus33 (they’re made in New Hampshire!). Once in a blue moon the Outside/In team opens up the mailbag and answers your questions about the natural world. This time, they all share a preoccupation with a particular hue: blue. Come along as we learn about the differences between European and Aztec conceptions of the color blue, how constr...
Jan 25, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Support Outside/In before February 5th, and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Donate $8 per month, and we’ll send you a pair of NH-made Merino wool socks from Minus33. For many, wild horses are a symbol of freedom, strength, and the American West. But to some they’re a symbol of colonialism and an ecological nuisance. Host Nate Hegyi visits a rancher on the Blackfeet Reservation, where free-ranging horses have become more plentiful than deer. They’re outcompeting cattle for forage and...
Jan 18, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Support Outside/In during our Jan/Feb fundraiser and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Plus, if you donate $10 per month we’ll send you a pair of NH-made Merino wool socks from Minus33. Did you know that the humble pigeon is related to the dodo, makes milk (pigeon cheese, anyone?) and even played a role in the French Revolution? Surely this often-dismissed bird deserves some recognition. Well, on this episode we’re diving deep into the biology and history of Nate’s favorite overlooked...
Jan 11, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1994, the world’s first oat milk company was born in Sweden. Three decades later, Oatly is on a high-stakes mission to defeat the dairy industry by becoming the biggest plant-based brand the world has ever seen. So…can a start-up from Malmö save us all through capitalism? And how much damage is our affection for dairy doing to the planet? This week, we’re featuring the first of a three-part series from the wonderful folks over at The Europeans podcast. SUPPORT Listen to the rest of The Europe...
Jan 04, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Even though you can explore its entirety from the comfort of a living room beanbag, the world of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (commonly just referred to as 'Skyrim') is vast . The video game contains cities, villages, high waterfalls that cascade into deep pools, and packs of wolves that roam the edges of misty alpine forests. Skyrim is celebrated for the intricacy of its environment and is one of the top-selling video games of all time. But if you spend enough time in a fantasy, it might change ...
Dec 28, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s Outside/In’s annual winter “Surthrival” show, in which a panel of podcast and radio journalists serve up their personal tips for staying warm, cozy, and active all winter long. From ice-fishing to spicy novels, we’ve got suggestions that’ll get you outside when the adventurous spirit takes hold, and others for days when it’s too darn cold out. This year, we’re joined by Berly McCoy, producer of NPR’s Shortwave podcast , Olivia Richardson, reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio , and Nick C...
Dec 21, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
